Wellington Students Rally for Protest Against Fast Track Legislation

Fergus Goodall Smith 

On the 11^th of April, secondary students from the surrounding Wellington region will gather to march on Parliament. Their reason: the recently implemented Fast Track Approvals Act which loosens regulations for mining on seabeds, conservation land, and Māori whenua. 

The Fast-Track Approvals Act came into law on December 23^rd with the goal of allowing ‘infrastructure and development plans’ to go ahead with more ease. During its select committee process the bill received 27,000 submissions. Simon Upton, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, stated that the bill deprioritised the environment, posed significant environmental risks, and said that impacts were poorly understood and were potentially being ignored. 

The legislation requires the approval of three ministers (NZ First’s Shane Jones, and National’s Chris Bishop and Simeon Brown) to give the go ahead on fast-track projects. This bypasses a wider consensus normally required by the House as a whole. 

The protest is the latest in a string of demonstrations against Coalition Government activities. This march follows in the footsteps of Hīkoi mō te Tiriti, which saw over 50,000 turn out against the Treaty Principles Bill. 

Salient spoke to Miki Inoue-Palmer, head of comms at School Strike for Climate Wellington (SS4CWellingtion) about the upcoming school strike. She says SS4CWellingtion is expecting thousands of protestors to join the march. “Organising a strike that large can be pretty stressful” says Miki. “It involves a lot of mahi behind the scenes”. 

Miki is also inviting tauira from Victoria University to join their hīkoi. “While we’re primarily run by secondary school students, university students play a massive part within youth-based climate movements, and we are looking forward to seeing as many Te Herenga Waka students as possible.” A sign painting event will be held from 11am to 1pm in the Hub on Thursday. 

SS4CWellington has also been in touch with Minister Chris Bishop, who introduced the bill, to invite him to meet with the protesters and discuss the acts implications. “Unfortunately, we have not received word as to whether or not he will attend” says Inoue-Palmer. 

Salient asked SS4CWellington what outcomes they hoped would come from this week’s strike. “We hope to see this bill repealed immediately, there’s a lack of long-term sustainability, and the bill exploits whenua for short term profit” says Miki. “It’s also important to us that people (especially rangatahi) understand the destructiveness of this act, and the impact that it will have on our planet so that they can effectively fight against it,” she added. 

Protestors will gather at Frank Kitts Park at 12:00pm on the 11^th to then begin their hīkoi down Jervois Quay, onto Lambton Quay, and then to Parliament Grounds at 1:30pm. Several whaikōrero will then be given, including some from local MPs. If you’re keen, just rock up!